Schools as safe havens for students

ISSUES of student safety continue to rise as schools seem to be pre-occupied with producing results only.

If Vision 2030 goals of attaining an upper middle income economy by year 2030 are to be attained, then schools should seriously consider transforming itself by creating middle class school structures that are capable of addressing students’ safety.

Schools are expected to be inclusive, child friendly, multi-cultural and above all, offer safe environments for children. As part of my civic responsibility and wish to improve the quality of education in our schools, I found it worthwhile to explore avenues that can be adopted by schools to promote student safety.

What is student safety?

Safety can take the form of being protected from an event or from exposure to anything that causes health or economic losses. Safety involves being protected against physical, social, spiritual, occupational or psychological things that could be considered non-desirable.

Safety can also be defined as the control of recognised hazards to achieve an acceptable level of risk. It therefore implies that safety involves protection from physical as well as emotional harm.

Destruction of the existing school structure

The existing school structures were created by the colonial educational administrators to buttress oppression and exploitation of the indigenous populace.

If the school is using 19th Century structures to deal with 21st century problems, it becomes difficult to attain the intended goals.

Now that we have adopted a heritage based philosophy of Education we therefore urgently need structures that respond to the national goals and vision.

The school structure set up a century ago is incompatible with the dictates of Education 5.0 and the goals of Vision 2030.

If education 5.0 seeks to transform the society then it must be noted that development starts from the periphery and extends outwards.

The school needs to transform itself first before attempts to change the society are made. The current bureaucratic structures of the schools are not in congruence with the goals of Education 5.0.

Bureaucracy not only stifles creativity and innovation but delays implementation of measures that are already too late in our schools.

Communication

In schools, the heads, parents, teachers and students must all be consistently involved in the process of effective communication to create a positive school environment. A constructive positive school learning environment is always open to change.

It acknowledges feedbacks and mistakes as something that can help the school improve. This is the most ideal environment that can lead to student development.

Communication should not be mistaken for information sharing only. Effective communication in a school is capable of facilitating a change in attitude and other dimensions of child development. Effective communication should not wait until something dreadful happens to the student or in the school.

It is extremely important that students learn the value of school and home coordination from the early stages of their education. A school is an institution where the students learn that they have to communicate with other fellow students, teachers and parents to get work done.

It is in the school that the students learn that their ideas, opinions and efforts are valued and that they are active members of the society. It is therefore important to keep the channels of communication open at any given time. Perhaps this is why the current structure is no longer relevant as it largely fails to accommodate the open door policy both at school and at home.

Roles of the school head

The current state of schools overburdens the school heads and teachers with responsibilities.

The sophisticated nature and scope of psycho-social problems presented to the school may demand modifications of the roles carried by the head.

Schools are supposed to be behaviour modification centres but teachers and heads are more focused on results, living little time and room for problem solving.

It is time schools engage qualified social workers who are exclusively employed in the school system to deal with students’ safety. Schools heads are overwhelmed with supervision and management issues.

This partly explains why some heads have taken questionable steps when dealing with issues of student indiscipline.

Child friendly schools

The psychological safety of the students in schools is to an extent affected by labelling and name calling. The label can result in the student and teachers reducing their expectations and goals for what can be achieved by the students.

In addition to lower expectations, the student may develop low self-esteem. If the teachers and parents do not believe in students’ ability, then the student will not either.

Labelling creates a sense of helplessness. The student feels unwanted and worthless, leading to hopelessness. It creates a vicious cycle, which ultimately sets the students up for regrettable actions. Students who are labelled are to a greater extent likely to experience issues with their peers.

They may be made fun of for being excluded by teachers and others. In some cases, issues with peers can result in bullying.

The student may become very isolated and withdrawn in the school setting. The recent cases in which students experienced labelling and improper handling resulted in both students losing their lives.

Multi-culturalism

It is sad to note that some schools dogmatically cling to the past, yet society has undergone extensive transformations.

Students should not be forced into other people’s practices since they are drawn from diverse social and religious backgrounds. Safe school environments are supposed to be inclusive in all aspects. Multi-cultural education is part of the rights of children.

Needs and interest of the students

The safety of students in schools can be supported by attending to the needs and interest of the learners whenever possible. The teachers can create an enabling teaching and learning environment through providing unconditional positive regard.

A democratic environment makes learners free form worries that threaten their existence and well-being. Teachers who label students create negative self-image in students. Aspects that relate to gender equality and equity should be taken into account when structuring class activities.

It is my sincere hope that with these and other measures, our schools will work together with stakeholders to make schools more comfortable for all.